Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Welcome to v. 3 of Keep Love Alive! I hope you have enjoyed these little encouraging posts as much as I have! I love finding ways to work on my marriage... no relationship is perfect, and there's ALWAYS room for improvements.

This week is brought to you by a fellow blogger and friend, Andrea. Her blog is full of family fun and her cute little Lucy!

Hi! I'm Andrea. I'm a stay at home mom, Pastor's wife, general crafter, and blogger. I was asked to do a guest post for this series, and I'm so excited to get to share with you a little bit about marriage! I love marriage, and being married, and I love seeing marriages thriving! So, a little about me...

Opposites attract, or so I’m told. I’m also living proof. In high school, Wesley was the guy who came to school late and left early, he drove a lowered Dodge Dakota, and he raced four wheelers and rode BMX bikes. I got to school early, made straight A’s, did my nails on Friday nights, and was as plain-Jane as they come. I was the “good girl” and he was not the guy you wanted to bring home to mom. And of course, I thought he was fine!

By the time I was a junior, (he had graduated before me) he had gotten saved, and was starting to help a youth minister at a church in our area. So of course, I asked his brother to set us up. He fit my list! Christian guy. Not long after that, we started dating.

I guess because of our differences, we broke up, and went back out and broke up again, and went back out again. Too many times to remember. I moved to college (just to JCJC, not that far away) and that set something off. He told me that if we ever started dating again, he would ask me to marry him. And that is exactly what happened!

I got married when I was 19, after (on again, off again) three years of dating (although I knew who he was since like 5th grade). Most people would say, “That’s too young!” And honestly, I would agree – but this is what God had for me. I knew when I was 16 that I would marry Wesley, and looking back I wouldn’t change anything. We’ve been married for 7 years, we have a 1 year old baby girl who showed us what love really was, and we are more happy now than we were on day one.

So what advice would I give to people thinking about getting married or who are in a marriage?

Christ has to be first.

If Christ isn’t head of your household, followed by your husband, then things will never run smoothly. That’s how God intended it.

Be able to talk, AND listen, to your spouse.

- “Communication.” It’s always the first one on the list, but it really is most important. If you can’t tell them the truth, and can’t talk things out, things will be much harder for you in the long run. Second on that – be able to listen – you aren’t perfect, either. It’s not always their fault.

Don’t go to bed angry.

If you do, you’ll just have more time to dig up more stuff that you want to be angry about. Wes and I joke that we argue all day, every day. But with that – nothing builds up. We don’t have blow out arguments where we throw things. We keep everything in the open.

Respect, especially outside of the home.

If you blast your husband to your friends, that impression will stay with them. You don’t want people thinking negatively about your husband, and your husband doesn’t either. Respect each other – especially to others.

If your husband comes to you and confides in you – don’t always take it personally. My husband once told me that he felt like I was letting myself go a little (after I had our little girl.. ok, a year after…). It hurt, but I started realizing, that he was right. I wasn’t taking care of myself. I did need to make some changes. If your husband or your wife cares enough to talk to you about this – that means they really love you and are in it for the long haul! On that same note – if your spouse blows up at you after a long day at work – it probably has nothing to do with you. We tend to take things out on the people we love, instead of the people who are bothering us.

There is no secret method to having a perfect marriage. The secret is – there is no such thing as a perfect marriage – because we are not perfect people. But we do serve a perfect Savior who can help us have a GREAT marriage, especially if we keep Him in it.

Monday, September 26, 2011

I kept thinking I had more weeks and days. Well, now it has all come down to this week!

We are leaving for Los Angeles in four days, and my plan is to have all of Canton stock done before I leave. I. can. do. this.

I've been sewing up some pretty sweet stockings today, and will be working on more of those in the morning. Then it will be on to the felt zipper pouches and many other things I want to get done this week.

I'm trying my best to not get overwhelmed, but it's definitely the easy thing to do.

Are you planning to go to Canton??? We'd love to see some friendly faces among the crowd!

Sunday, September 25, 2011

We attended a surprise party, went on a little over night trip, played lots of music, ate yummy food, and enjoyed time with family and friends!

Jim and Mallory's pup got lots of attention from Anne at the surprise party :)

She seriously was the sweetest puppy I've ever met!

We had a little sleep over at Michael and Sam's with the Hathorn's...We love Michael and Sam!!!

Today was actually Gigi's birthday. She and Adam met us for ice cream and an afternoon at the park.

Happy birthday, Gigi! We love you!!!
I felt a little like Jackie Kennedy in these shades and scarf...I liked it :)

I hope you all had a fun weekend, too!

I'm counting down the days until we leave for Los Angeles.....5 days!!! I have so much sewing to get done before then, but am excited to check some things off my list! But for now, it's off to sleep ;)

I, like everyone else, have been dreaming of fall weather the past few
weeks. After the little cold snap we had a few weeks ago, I feel like
mother nature is somehow holding fall in front of my face and teasing
me. Okay, maybe that's a little dramatic, but still. I'm so ready for
that cool, crispness that comes in autumn.

I just have to say it. I really love my church. When I think about how fun it would be to move to the mountains, the one thing that holds me back (besides leaving family) is the feeling that we'd never find another church we love more than ours.
I love how my pastor opened this past week's message..."If you're new here, it's only a matter of time before someone hurts you. If you're new here, it's only a matter of time before you hurt someone." ...or at least something like that. Truth is, we're all human. We all make mistakes and hurt each other. The most important thing is that we live a life of forgiveness and mercy. When I consider the mercy and forgiveness that Christ has shown me, how can I not forgive others?
We've been going to Crosspointe for 9 years now, which is almost as long as they've been meeting. I love this group of believers for so many reasons. It's just home to us.
Here are a few highlights from our gathering last weekend. It was a great night of gumbo, music, and baptism.

If you are local and don't have a church family, consider this a personal invitation!
I'd love to see you there ;)

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

I have to be honest, I wasn't anticipating being one of the first shoppers to Target on Tuesday. I have been on a hunt for stationary for several weeks and thought I'd give Target a shot after dropping Anne off at school. On my way, I saw someone post on twitter that the Missoni for Target was out that day. I got excited even though I wasn't exactly sure what the Missoni for Target was supposed to look like :)

When I arrived, employees were still putting out merchandise and women were standing around like vultures waiting to see what they would pull out next. I have to say, I really loved the patterns and prints and immediately fell in love with this dress. It was one of the brightest things they had...most of it was blacks and browns. I decided to purchase this dress as an early birthday present and am so glad I did! I really LOVE it!